The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly to gestures for resetting the case of recognized text on a pen-based computer.
Computerized personal organizers are becoming increasingly popular with a large segment of the population. Computerized personal organizers tend to be small, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive, and can perform such functions as keeping a calendar, an address book, a to-do list, etc. While many of these functions can also be provided in conventional computer systems, personal organizers are very well suited to the personal organization task due to their small size and portability. Personal organizers are available from such companies as Sharp and Casio of Japan.
A relatively new form of computer, the pen-based computer system, holds forth the promise of a marriage of the power of a general purpose computer with the functionality and small size of a personal organizer. A pen-based computer system is typically a small, hand-held computer where the primary method for inputting data includes a "pen" or stylus. A pen-based computer system is commonly housed in a generally rectangular enclosure, and has a dual-function display assembly providing a viewing screen along one of the planar sides of the enclosure. The dual-function display assembly serves as both an input device and an output device. When operating as an input device, the display assembly senses the position of the tip of a stylus on the viewing screen and provides this positional information to the computer's central processing unit (CPU). Some display assemblies can also sense the pressure of the stylus on the screen to provide further information to the CPU. When operating as an output device, the display assembly presents computer-generated images on the screen.
The dual-function display assemblies of pen-based computer systems permit users to operate the computer as a computerized notepad. For example, graphical images can be input into the pen-based computer by merely moving the stylus on the surface of the screen. As the CPU senses the position and movement of the stylus, it generates a corresponding image on the screen to create the illusion that the stylus is drawing the image directly upon the screen, i.e. that the stylus is "inking" an image on the screen. With suitable recognition software, text and numeric information can also be entered into the pen-based computer system in a similar fashion.
One of the most common problems with text recognition is the misrecognition of the case of the input text. Correction of miscapitalization can involve the deletion and reentering of the text with no guarantee that such reentering will result in correct case recognition. Such steps are time-consuming and inefficient.
An example of a prior art change of case tool on a standard keyboard-based computer system, such as a Macintosh, is provided in Microsoft Word from Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, Wash. A Change Case command can be selected from a pull-down menu or a dedicated command button to display a dialog box of options for changing the case of the text selected. Uppercase, lowercase, title case, sentence case, or toggle case commands can be selected from the list of options. The uppercase option changes the letters of the selected text from lower case to upper case. Conversely, the lower case option changes the letters of the selected text from upper case to lower case. Title case changes the initial characters of the selected text to upper case, while sentence case capitalizes the first word of the selected text. Toggle case functions as its name implies in changing all upper case letters to lower case and all lower case letters to upper case within the selected text. While these options provide a simple technique of altering the case of selected text, the aim is not to correct misrecognized text, since recognition is automatic on a keyboard-based system. Rather, the provision of a change of case command merely adds a word-processing tool within the application to enhance its functionality.
With the limit in size and screen space on a portable, pen-based system, use of a dedicated command button for changing the case of text input is extravagant and impractical. What is needed is a technique that provides functionality in allowing easy and efficient altering of the case of a textual object entered on a pen-based computer system.